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Officer's attorneys want prosecutors sanctioned

A Bernalillo County District Court judge could decide to move the trial of two former Albuquerque police officers, or dismiss the case altogether Tuesday.

Officer's attorneys want prosecutors sanctioned

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Updated: 6:41 PM MDT Sep 5, 2016

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —

A Bernalillo County District Court judge could decide to move the trial of two former Albuquerque police officers, or dismiss the case altogether Tuesday.

Two former officers, Keith Sandy and Dominique Perez, are charged with second degree murder for the shooting death of James Boyd.

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Attorneys for Sandy and Perez filed paperwork claiming that special prosecutor Randi McGinn and district attorney Kari Brandenburg violated ethical rules and made comments that would prejudice a jury.

They said in a Buzzfeed article last month, right before jury selection, McGinn stated, "My friends in law enforcement asked if Kari was going to hire me a bodyguard and if I was gonna start wearing a bulletproof vest, because the cops are gonna come after you."

Brandenburg is quoted calling Mayor Richard Berry a psychopath in the article. Brandenburg told KOAT she never called the mayor that, but the author of the article said he stands by the story.

Lawyers for Perez and Sandy said commenting on a pending case where a jury is about to be seated, attacking witnesses and giving opinions is prejudicial and inappropriate.

They also said there is absolutely no evidence police, especially Perez or Sandy, ever threatened either one of the prosecutors - that it's actually Sandy and Perez who have repeatedly had their lives threatened since James Boyd's death in 2014.

The prosecutors filed their response to this. In court records they say Ms. McGinn has limited her public comments, and that once Kari Brandenburg was removed from this case, she no longer had an obligation to keep silent.